1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related generally to portable lap trays, and more particularly to lap trays for supporting food upon the lap of a seated individual.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lap support trays are well known in the art for managing food, drinks and the like, or for supporting reading and writing materials upon a hard surface. Many such devices include a single, hard, flat, planar surface on which such items may be placed and supported. Users often use these trays when seated, using their laps to support such trays.
It is sometimes difficult to maintain the balance of a tray upon a user's lap, while preventing the tray from sliding off the lap or otherwise tipping and spilling its contents. Prior developers have attempted to design portable lap trays to help alleviate these problems. Some designs use high-friction materials that will essentially cling to clothing; others are molded to form-fit a user's legs when the users is seated. However, users come in different shapes and sizes, and such prior trays still cause many users discomfort when attempting to make use thereof.
Certain lap trays disclosed in the past feature designs that include a single- or double-wing design to assist support of a lap tray. These wings function to allow a user to engage the tray, usually by holding, resting, or supporting the tray on a lap, or between or around the user's legs. Single-wing designs provide an anchor to prevent major shifting. Double-wing systems contact the inner thighs of each of the user's legs, and have generally helped secure lap trays. No design has yet fully compensated for the ergonomics present in the human pelvis and hip joints, which require a modest separation between the user's legs. As yet, there has not been a lap tray available that is of simple design and construction, easy to manufacture, and which can be properly supported by the average human lap, while accounting for normal leg orientation. Furthermore, the art lacks a design for a lap tray that allows a user to easily adjust tray height and orientation.